First feedback on last week's launch of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark has welcomed the move – but warns against drawing conclusions too quickly and highlights a number of critical issues such as the quality and credibility of information, governance and price pressures.

Retailer Marks & Spencer has finally booked like-for-like sales growth in its general merchandise unit, which includes clothing and homewares, thanks to a focus on value and quality, rather than "reactionary and desperate" discounting. Not surprisingly, analysts have praised the UK retailer's first positive clothing performance in two years.

Instead of the regular roundup of the most-read news pieces on just-style during the week, we thought a fitting end to the year would be to take a look at our top analysis pieces in 2016. Child labour, trade deals, Trump's election, 3D printing, the impact of Brexit, and sustainability are just some of the issues we analysed.

Instead of our regular roundup of the most-read stories on just-style during the week, we thought a fitting end to the year would be to take a look at the top news stories on just-style in 2016. Cutting edge innovations, Africa growth, Brexit, worker safety, key apparel and footwear trends, and minimum wages were just some of the issues that made the headlines.

Latest Interviews

UK retailer Marks & Spencer is on something of a mission: To become the world's most sustainable retailer through its ambitious Plan A environmental and ethical programme. The person in charge of implementing this globally is Adam Elman, head of Plan A delivery, who discusses the initiative's challenging targets and the need for wider industry collaboration.

As safety inspections on more than 1,500 garment factories supplying a group of mainly European retailers get underway this week, just-style speaks with Brad Loewen, the top safety official overseeing the effort.

British fashion and food retailer Marks & Spencer is to create what it claims is the world's first data skills academy in retail, designed to bolster the company's ongoing digital transformation and train more than 1,000 M&S staff.

Trying to find new ways to reinvent its business and be more relevant to its customers, retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has inked a partnership with startup accelerator Founders Factory that will give it access to emerging technologies, business models and entrepreneurial thinking.

Marks & Spencer says over three-quarters of its cotton is now procured from sustainable sources, putting the UK fashion, homeware and food retailer on track to meet its commitment to hit 100% next year.

M&S has revealed profits slumped by almost three-quarters last year as a result of declining sales of clothing, food and homeware and what CEO Steve Rowe called "short-term costs" as a result of its turnaround plan.

Marks and Spencer is "perilously close" to losing its status as the UK's number one clothing retailer to Primark as the company announces plans to shutter more than 100 stores before 2022 as it reshapes its UK store estate in line with its target to take at least a third of sales online.

As part of ongoing efforts to transform its business, UK retail group Marks & Spencer is to implement a new single-tier clothing and home logistics network it says will allow it to move products from suppliers to stores faster and at a lower cost.

As part of ongoing efforts to transform its business, UK retail group Marks & Spencer has named a new leadership team tasked with overhauling the firm's clothing and home operations – including the creation of new role to oversee the newly merged womenswear and kidswear teams.

Marks & Spencer is only just beginning its marathon of transforming its operations, but while there may still be fires to put out, plans to adapt the UK retailer’s clothing offer to appeal to a broader, younger consumer base could certainly help, analysts say.

German sportswear giant Adidas is among more than 50 major global corporates calling on world leaders to tackle climate change by introducing framework conditions that lay the foundation for a pathway towards limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Retailer Marks & Spencer has joined forces with global confederation Care International to create a sustainable and scalable model to address the health and social needs of the more than 4m female garment workers in Bangladesh.

Latest blogs

Over the past month, Donald Trump and his team failed to offer any clear plan to ensure Americans would "Buy American, Hire American" - while the British government's attempts to clarify the specifics of "Brexit means Brexit" left no-one better informed. Mike Flanagan has taken a closer look in his monthly Trade Tracker update.